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    Living on the edge

    The view from my window is of the sea stretching into the horizon, met by the firm line of sky in the far distance. This is the extraordinary view shared by all at Roedean: our daily vista. Our gaze is not limited by buildings, trees, or hills but, at many points during each day, the eye is drawn to the far horizon.

    This location gives us space, openness, light and air. We are aware that we cannot control the wind or the roaring waves and we must learn to adapt and accept our place within the larger environment. It is an energising and stimulating place to be.

    Community life
    How does it affect our community life? By choosing to build a school on the edge of the country, the founding sisters gave the place both a challenge and a hidden asset in terms of its catchment.

    The sea could be seen as either as a boundary and a barrier to recruitment, or as a route to a wider set of potential students with all the richness and variety that a more international catchment could bring. This is, indeed, how Roedean has turned its position on the edge to its advantage.

    With our varied intake, Roedean finds itself mirroring the broad horizon and open vistas of its external environment within its community life. A host of different cultural and social backgrounds leads our students to be open-minded, accepting, ready to think in new ways as their preconceptions are frequently challenged. They are encouraged to look hard for the reason for their own views and beliefs and to articulate these clearly, rather than following the crowd.

    Living in the space between – the liminal space of the seashore – the boundary of earth and sea – is perhaps appropriate for a community focused on the education of teenagers, being themselves in a liminal period of their lives. Girls are moving from one stage to another, from children to young adults, from undeveloped minds to those able to master complex ideas, and for many, from one culture to another.

    It is a time when education is both giving them structure and shape to their thinking, but should also be challenging, fresh, and exciting.

    The essence of Roedean, then, is a place which is a little different, unconventional, fresh and invigorating, open minded, but rooted firmly a belief in the importance of education and the value of the individual within the community.

    By Frances King, Headmistress at Tuesday, 7 September 2010

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